''Électre'' (''Electra'') is an opera by the French composer

Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (; 15 February 1704 – 25 May 1778) was a French sculptor of the 18th century who worked in both the rococo and neoclassical style. He made monumental statuary for the Gardens of Versailles but was best known for his exp ...

, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

) on 2 July 1782. It takes the form of a ''

tragédie lyrique This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most co ...

'' in three acts. The

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

, by

Nicolas-François Guillard Nicolas-François Guillard (; 16 January 1752 – 26 December 1814) was a French librettist. He was born in Chartres and died in Paris, the recipient of a government pension in recognition of his work writing librettos. He was also on ''Comité d ...

, is based on the Greek myth of

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

Roles

Notes

Sources

* Original libretto
''Electre,//Tragédie//en 3 actes,//Représentée//Pour la première fois,//Par l'Académie-royale//de musique,//Le Mardi 2 Juillet 1782''
Paris, De Lormel, 1782, via Gallica – BNF * Original printed score
''Electre//Tragédie,//en Trois Actes,//Mise en Musique et Dediée//à la Reine//par Mr. Le Moyne''
Paris, Chez l'auteur, 1782, via Gallica – BNF * Félix Clément and

Pierre Larousse Pierre Athanase Larousse (; 23 October 18173 January 1875) was a French grammarian, lexicographer and encyclopaedist. He published many of the outstanding educational and reference works of 19th-century France, including the 15-volume . Early ...

''Dictionnaire des Opéras''
p. 245. *, "Foreigners at the Académie Royale de Musique" in Antonio Sacchini, ''Renaud'', Madrid, Ediciones Singulares, 2013 (book accompanying the complete recording conducted by

Christophe Rousset Christophe Rousset (; born 12 April 1961) is a French harpsichordist and conducting, conductor, who specializes in the performance of Baroque music on Authentic performance, period instruments. He is also a musicologist, particularly of opera and ...

). Operas French-language operas Operas by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne Operas based on classical mythology 1782 operas Tragédies en musique Libretti by Nicolas-François Guillard Clytemnestra {{french-opera-stub